Copied from: http://www.dancesafe.org/slideshow/Each slide in this slide-show is rated for its level of technicality with the word BASIC,INTERMEDIATE, or ADVANCED.Generally, the slideshow progresses from basic to advanced. The advanced slides should notbe too difficult to understand if you have gone through the previous ones. The second part of this slideshow is all about MDMA neurotoxicity, including up-to-dateresearch and current theories. This Slideshow was created by Emanuel Sferios. Feel free to reproduce any or all of it at will. All we ask is that you credit Emanuel and DanceSafe. Emanuel can be contacted at:emanuelsferios@dancesafe.org

Slide #1 (BASIC)

This is a model of a typical human brain, showing some of the basic brain areas. You don'tneed to memorize them all. This is just a warm-up slide to get you started.

Slide #2 (BASIC)

This is a model of a typical brain cell, or neuron. Your brain contains billions of brain cells. Abrain cell consists of a

cell body

, which stores the DNA,

dendrites

which receive chemical signalsfrom other cells, and an

axon

, which carries an electrical signal from the cell body to the

axon terminals

. The axon terminals contain chemicals, called "neurotransmitters," which are releasedin order for the cell to communicate with nearby cells.Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, and some brain cells have axons that contain only serotonin. These are called "serotonin neurons." Other brain cells produce and release differentneurotransmitters, like

dopamine

or

norepinephrine

, and some produce and release more than oneneurotransmitter. However, your serotonin cells only produce and release serotonin.

Slide #3 (BASIC)

Here you can see how the axon terminals, which contain serotonin, lie very close to thedendrites of other, nearby neurons. Notice the gap between the axon terminal of theserotonin neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron. This gap is called the "synapse" and is where the serotonin gets released. Soon we will look at the synapse up close, and see whathappens when ecstasy causes large amounts of serotonin to be released there. But first, let'slook at how serotonin cells are distributed throughout your brain.

Slide #4 (BASIC)

Most serotonin cells ( in red ) begin in a specific area of the the brain stem called the "raphenuclei." Their dendrites and cell body's are located here, and they have very long axons thatextend into every other part of the brain. Serotonin axons are much denser and have many more tree-like branches than we were able to show in this drawing. They are also muchlonger than any diagram can easily depict. If you were to stretch out a serotonin neuron on atable in front of you, it might be a foot long, but you still wouldn't be able to see it because it would be so thin. Most people think of brain cells as shorter and confined to particular brainregions ( in blue ). While some brain cells are like this, this is not the case with serononin cells.No wonder serotonin plays such an important role in so many brain functions, such as theregulation of mood, heart-rate, sleep, appetite, pain and other things.

Slide #5 (BASIC)

This is an actual photograph of serotonin cells (mostly axons) in a rat's brain. Notice the tree-like branching of the axons. The dark spaces around the serotonin cells are actually densely filled with other brain cells. You can't see them in this picture, however, because only theserotonin cells were stained to make them visible.